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PCPhoto Magazine - Editor's Choice Awards
At the end of each year,
PCPhoto Magazine
publishes its Editor's Choice Awards.
I thought that it might be useful, this year, to add this list to my website as
a complement to my own list of camera and digital darkroom gear. All of the
items are linked to Amazon.com and, where appropriate, to Adorama as well.
Please note that the thumbnail sketches of some of these items are as written by
the editors.
Editor's Choice - 2004
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Canon i9900 Photo Printer
One of the coolest printers to come out this year is Canon's i9900 which
creates amazing 13x19 inch color prints. The addition of two new color
inks, red and green, to the traditional six-ink system extends the color
range to new levels of brilliance and accuracy and makes this printer an
editors' choice. |
Adobe Premiere Elements Video
Editing
When I first saw this software as a beta program, I knew it was a
winner. It offers both simplicity and a high level of control not often
found in inexpensive video software. The layout of the program makes it
easy to quickly get started editing your video plus it interacts with
Photoshop Elements for most controls. |
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Wacom Intuos3 4X5 USB Tablet
I was a fan of Wacom's pen tablets the first time I used one, and even
more so since Photoshop added enhanced functionality when using Wacom's
pens and tablets to apply effects to photos. The new Intuos3 tablet
includes multiple Expresskeys to which you can assign the commands you
use most often. These soft keys even can be set to perform different
functions as you switch between applications. Comes in two additional
sizes for more control:
6x8 inches and
9x12 inches |
Micro Solutions RoadStor All-in-One Photo to CD Burner and Digital Photo Viewer
When a device performs as many functions as the RoadStor from
MicroSolutions, there's no way I could pass on the chance to highlight
it. The battery powered RoadStor can be used as a CD burner to empty
your memory cards on the road, as a digital photo viewer to play
slideshows on a TV or as a portable DVD and MP3 player. |
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Ulead VideoStudio 8 - Home Movies
This movie-making software is among our editors' picks because of its
ability to create a complete video with ease. After selecting your
footage and a template, the software's Movie Wizard does the job tin
three simple steps. it offers a wealth of tools for more hands-on
editing, including producing your own soundtrack. |
ACDSee 7.0 Photo Management
An image browser as fast and versatile as ACDSee 7.0 is a welcome
addition to my list of favorites. The popular browser allows you to
manage and organize your images while providing tools for enhancing
photographs, sending e-mails, creating slideshows and outputting to
recordable discs and prints. |
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Epson Stylus Photo R800 Inkjet Printer
What I find especially useful in the R800 is its ability to create
archival prints and to print directly on CDs. Delivering eight-pigment
inks in droplets as small as 1.5 picoliters, the printer includes red
and blue inks for an increased color gamut. It creates borderless 8x10s
and prints directly onto printable CD-R/RW discs. |
Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Select Edition
I can't imagine being without this handy plug-in. It offers a set of
very photographic adjustments that make it easier and faster to do
high-level work on images. The latest version offers advanced controls
and some new adjustments (including a great set of black-and-white
adjustments.) |
Mirra Personal Server M-80 Version 2
Take it from someone who lost more than a gigabyte of
images when his new computer's hard drive crashed: Backing up photos and
other docs stored on your PC is important. I like the Mirra Personal
Server's solution because it makes the process automatic. You specify
the folders you want to backup and Mirra automatically "mirrors" those
files on its hard drive. It even will save up to eight versions of a
file so that you can go back in time, if necessary. you also can access
the files stored on your Mirra via the Web.
Comes in versions with
80 GB,
120 GB, and
250 GB of disk space. |
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual IV Film Scanner
I gave this scanner a nod because its beautiful 3200-dpi scans are a
great value for the money. The Scan Dual IV's wide 4.8 dynamic range and
16-bit A/D conversion capture the depth of tonality in my images, and
its 21-second scan time helps me get my scans done quickly. |
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Other Selections Not Available via Amazon.com
- DX0 Optics Pro 2.0
- Gepe Card Safe
- Applied Science Fiction Digital GEM
- Rocket Life
- ProOptic Super Fish Eye Lens
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If you like this list, you might want
to check out the Editor's Choice lists from
Popular Photography
and Imaging and
PC Magazine.
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